R. Kelly Guilty Of Child Pornography, Enticing Minors For Sex

CHICAGO — A jury on Wednesday found musician R. Kelly guilty on three criminal counts charges of producing child pornography and three counts of sexual crimes against children, which brought a close to a month-long trial involving the former R&B musician.

The verdict came on the second day of jury deliberations and after the jury delivered several questions to the judge during their 11 hours of deliberations. Two of Kelly’s associates were found not guilty of the charges they faced in the matter.

Kelly faced a total of 13 criminal charges. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and tampering with evidence during his 2008 trial on criminal pornography as part of the "mixed verdict", which was announced just before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Kelly, the 55-year-old Chicago native was previously found guilty of similar criminal charges in New York and faces 30 years in prison. U.S. Attorney John Lausch told reporters after the verdict that the government wants Kelly to serve his sentence concurrently with his 30-year sentence from New York and that based on the jury's decision on Wednesday, Kelly could be looking at anywhere between 10-90 years behind bars for his crimes.

“When we have instances where defendants are convicted of committing horrific acts against other individuals, and it’s separate and apart from other horrific acts that he committed against other individuals, we’re asking for that (sentence) to be consecutive,” Lausch told reporters.

Kelly was found guilty on three of the four charges in the indictment for the sexual exploitation of “Jane”, who was 14 at the time and who the jury determined Kelly used to produce child pornography. Kelly was indicted in 2019 on charges of producing and receiving child pornography as well as enticing minors for sex and obstruction of justice.

But Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, praised jurors for considering each criminal count on its own and considers her client being acquitted on seven of the 13 counts as a victory although "not a win entirely."

She told reporters outside of the federal courtroom where the verdicts were read that the government had "overcharged" the trial and accused prosecutors of bringing charges for which they did not have enough evidence to produce a guilty finding.

"That's how the government rolls," Bonjean told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. "That's how they roll."

She added: They should go back and figure out whether their approach, in this case, was the right one.”

Bonjean said that the series "Surviving R. Kelly" was a major reason why federal charges were brought against the musician in the first place. But she said that a number of the women who accused Kelly of crimes as part of the televised series were not found credible during the trial over the past month in Chicago.

Kelly’s former business manager, Derrel McDavid, and former employee Milton “June” Brown were accused of assisting with the cover-up of Kelly’s sexual misconduct. Both were found not guilty.

McDavid was charged with four criminal counts, including two counts of receiving child pornography, one of conspiring to do so, and one count of conspiring to obstruct justice by rigging the 2008 trial. Brown faced a single count of conspiring to receive child porn.

Kelly could face up to life in prison between the Chicago and New York charges and will appear at a sentencing hearing at a future date. Despite being acquitted on seven charges, Kelly likely faces a lengthy sentence stemming from his conviction on the six charges in addition to the prison sentence he faces stemming from his previous trial in New York.

Bonjean said that Kelly will appeal his sentence in New York and possibly Wednesday's in Chicago, but that he is glad to have both trials in his past rather than looming. Yet, she said that the former musician is still coping with the six guilty findings despite being acquitted on the seven other charges.

"Mr. Kelly is used to getting bad news," Bonjean said.